Central Vietnam province seeks to add long-delayed Blue Whale power project to Power Development Plan

Quang Ngai province has urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Prime Minister to add the long-delayed Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) gas-to-power project to the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII).

A Quang Ngai delegation, led by the People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Hoang Giang, made the suggestion at a meeting with the trade ministry on Monday.

The project, featuring three gas-fired power plants - Dung Quat 1, 2, 3, will play a key role in the country’s energy security in 2026-2030, he emphasized.

So far, Dung Quat 1 and Dung Quat 3, totaling 1,500 MW and to be invested by state utility EVN, have received in-principle approvals from the Prime Minister.

The 750 MW Dung Quat 2, invested by Singapore’s Sembcorp with an investment of $793 million, had its feasibility study report approved by the trade ministry and is processing next tasks.

The Ca Voi Xanh project also features an area to build another 750 MW gas-to-power project, Quang Ngai province reported.

Besides, Quang Ngai authorities urged the PM and the ministry to permit the gas-fired power project to utilize imported LNG or other fuel as feedstock. The project can use gas exploited from Ca Voi Xanh gas field later, according to Quang Ngai province.

American giant ExxonMobil and its Vietnamese partner first discovered the offshore Blue Whale field in 2011. “The resource is large enough to provide power to a city the size of Hanoi for more than 20 years,” ExxonMobil had highlighted then.

The project was approved for implementation by a partnership between the American firm and state-owned Petrovietnam years ago.

In August 2024, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said Vietnam is considering proceeding with the mega project without ExxonMobil in the initial phases, since the latter is engaged elsewhere.

Little progress had been made because ExxonMobil was restructuring itself and is now focusing on new energy, Dien added.